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SUNFLOWERS Andy Whelton from the Teagasc Horticulture Development Unit explores the growth of this popular annual for sale as monobunch, cut flowers or as a farm feature to a horticultural business.
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he annual sunflower, Helianthus annuus, is native to North America and has a long history as a source of medicine, food, oil and dye. We are familiar with it as a popular cut flower sold in mono-bunches or as an eye-catching centrepiece in mixed bunches. Sunflowers are a summer-grown field crop but also grow well under protection; tunnel-grown flowers offer a longer season due to increased protection from wind and rain damage. Sunflowers can be an attractive product offering in a variety of businesses. They can be sold alongside a range of other products and if the potentially long flowering season is exploited, the selling season can stretch well into autumn, to coincide with pumpkins in the run up to Halloween. The phenomenon of Instagram ‘moments’ with flower fields as the backdrop can be an additional attraction for open farms and mixed horticultural businesses. SITE AND SOIL When grown outdoors, a sheltered south
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facing site is desirable which warms up rapidly in the spring. Sunflowers are deep rooted and have specific water and nutrient needs although they can be grown in a wide range of soil types. SCHEDULING Sunflower planting can be worked into a variety of schedules to suit different marketing models. Sunflowers planted at the end of April are likely to start flowering from mid-July if conditions are favourable or in early August for larger headed varieties. Successive harvests of flowers can be achieved by new plantings every 7 – 14 days during the spring. Plants sown at the start of April will be ready for harvest in 14-17 weeks depending on cultivar and conditions and will be ready for harvest between mid-August and early September. Crops grown under protection will mature a lot faster.
HORTICULTURECONNECTED / www.horticultureconnected.ie / Spring 2021
CULTIVARS A wide range of sunflower cultivars are available, offering different head sizes and growth habits. Cultivars will either produce a single head (grandiflora) or multiple heads on a single plant (multiflora). The colour palette now available for sunflower cultivars is broad and covers the spectrum from cream to bright orange to dark amber. In Ireland, the main seed suppliers for the specialist cut flower species, are Takki seeds (www. takiiseed.com), Evanthia (www. evanthia.nl), and Johnny seeds (www.johnnyseeds.com). Proveg seeds (www.provegseeds.com) have been developing the Galilee series which particularly suit the Irish climate.
